"Ten billion?"The room fell into a stunned silence. It was so quiet that even the sound of breathing seemed to disappear.Every head slowly turned toward the entrance, where Hudson stood with an unreadable expression.Even Ruru was frozen in disbelief.‘Did I hear that correctly? Someone actually bid ten billion?’Anyone who truly possessed that kind of wealth would never need to attend an underground auction like this.When he finally recovered from his shock and realized the outrageous bid had come from a young man he had never seen before, disbelief quickly turned into anger.No one was worth ten billion dollars. There wasn't a woman alive worth that amount.And even if there were, there was no way a young man like Hudson could possibly afford it.The only explanation was that he had come here to cause trouble.Supported by two women, Kitty's hazy eyes suddenly cleared the moment she heard Hudson's voice. She tried to lift her head, struggling against the effects of the drugs floo

"Is this really your account?"Hudson stared at the heavyset businessman, his expression growing colder by the second.The man nodded repeatedly.Among everyone in the room, he had been the happiest when Hudson ordered them to transfer their assets. While the others had millions, or even tens of millions, in their personal accounts, his showed only $800,000.Compared to everyone else, he thought he had gotten lucky.Hudson glanced at the balance on the screen before looking back at him."It's not enough."The heavyset man blinked in confusion."What?”“You have at least five million."The man's face instantly lost all color."Boss, I swear that's all I have," he said hurriedly. "I only own a small manufacturing shop. I make maybe two or three hundred thousand dollars a year. This is my first time ever getting involved in something like this."Hudson cut him off before he could continue."Stop lying."His sharp eyes studied the man's face."Your eyebrows are thin and uneven. The corner

Hudson was human, not a machine.No matter how firm his resolve was, taking so many lives in a single day, especially the lives of ordinary people, left a heavy weight on his mind. Everything depended on perspective.From the victims' point of view, every trafficker in that cave deserved to die a hundred times over.But from the perspective of their families, many of them were fathers, mothers, sons, or daughters. Some had children who depended on them, while others had elderly parents waiting for them at home.Those innocent family members would also bear the consequences. Even so, if Hudson faced the same situation again...He knew he would make the same decision. Some crimes crossed a line that couldn't be forgiven.When someone chose to profit by destroying innocent lives, they had already accepted the price they might one day have to pay.Hudson had no sympathy for people who treated other human beings as merchandise.The only people he truly pitied were the innocent relatives le

Enhanced martial artists were far from ordinary opponents. Even so, Hudson remained calm.This was Seaview Manor, his own territory.Every formation surrounding the estate had been personally designed and set up by him. Combined with everything else in his arsenal, he refused to believe he couldn't handle just two enhanced martial artists."These two don't look ordinary," Reilan said as she stepped up beside Hudson.Her eyes burned with fighting spirit, making it obvious she wanted to join the battle.As one of the nation's War Generals, she rarely found an opponent worthy of testing her full strength. The borders had been unusually peaceful in recent years, and because of her position, very few people dared challenge her.Opportunities like this were rare."They're definitely not ordinary," Hudson replied. "The only thing we don't know yet... is what abilities they possess.""Abilities?" Reilan looked at him in surprise.She had clearly never heard of enhanced martial artists before.

As the newest female War Goddess, Reilan hadn't experienced many large-scale battles yet. Even so, she hadn't earned her title without real combat experience, which made the situation before her all the more confusing.Hudson had fought two supernatural warriors by himself, yet there wasn't a single visible wound on his body. His true energy was still abundant, showing almost no signs of depletion. And yet, he had collapsed without warning.It was unlike anything Reilan had ever seen.What none of them understood was that the attack Hudson had suffered wasn't physical.Mental power was invisible, intangible, and incredibly difficult to study. It wasn't that martial artists had never tried to understand it, but that it existed outside the limits of ordinary martial arts. Even a Grandmaster could be caught completely off guard by a skilled psychic attacker."Miss Reilan... is he going to be okay?" Ivory asked anxiously.Reilan carefully examined Hudson once more. Aside from his unusuall